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Saturday, June 30, 2012

I wanted to prove to myself that I could do the formal calligraphy style letters.

I wanted a 'classical look' for the presentation, and thought a standard book with turning pages might be a tad boring. Always wanted to try the 'flag book', so here it is.

Not being a 'book maker', I was confronted with major construction issues - tried the concertina bit 3 times before I got it right and nearly ruined the letters in the process.

I had a bright idea - I wanted to fasten the covers with magnets - hmmmmm

- this time at least 6 attempts to get it right.

Gave up and went for a simple slip cover instead. It was too big, so more modifications and extra layers of card.

Painting the ABC for the cover was the fun part - the rest was pure tedium.

...playing with the concertina,

...letters in place,

...book opened up with small slip cover,

...all closed up and looking very formal!! [Thanks Fiona for the cover paper]

...detail of ABC on cover.

Once again, this has been a great project, especially the sharing with others across the miles, and seeing how others' creativity is expressed. It's also great for me to have the opportunity to try new things without the pressure of exhibtions and public scrutiny.
Thanks Fiona.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Phew - just a couple of days left in June and I have finished my 'dotty' alphabet. I am now suffering from alphabet envy. This is my first alphabet book and I am quite pleased to have it, however now I am wishing I had begun this project in 2010 when others did and the completion of this dotty book would mean I had completed five alphabet books! How marvellous would that be .... having five of them bonding on the shelf ...... ah well, in another few years this book will have plenty of playmates.

This photo next is included as I am still quite partial to the 'bits' I had to cut off my letters as I had not made them the correct size for this project. I may try and include them somehow when I house my book in perspex.

I will be making a perspex box for my book, and maybe a perspex sleeve for underneath the box and that way the reflections will add another dimension. This is a borrowed box - you can see all the scratch marks from the pens which usually inhabit the box. Thought I would just borrow it momentarily for the photo shoot!

And so, my 'dotty' alphabet is complete, apart from its box and now I am working out ideas for the second alphabet. Something less dotty this time for sure ..... It has been fun though. Looking forward to all our books meeting.

After trying several options I finally decided to go even more 'dotty' and used buttons and a spot fabric to put all my letters together. I will put this piece away in anticipation of another grandchild one day! I think it would look nice hanging in a nursery although my school teacher daughter will say that I have used the wrong lower case form for the letter 'a'.
I have really enjoyed this challenge and am looking forward to seeing all the final pieces. Now to really start thinking about the next alphabet .......

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Well, what a struggle but on the whole enjoyable. I didn't realise when I started out using bleach to show up the letters that my cat is addicted to it. So there she was, each time I finished one she would lick them all over! Yuk! So then I had to hide them. Sometimes I hid them so well I couldn't find them again.

I decided to make a Jacob's ladder to display the letters. It was extremely hard to get all the letters in photograph. Instead of ribbon I used plastic so that the letters could be seen. The ladder works perfectly with a nice click clack sound.

Can't believe I'm finished. I really enjoyed this project, I rarely take six months to do anything and it's interesting for me to see the different "creative moods" I was in over the period.

The only part I planned at the start was to have both my "A" and "Z" Black.

I like them individually but as a group I don't think they work well together, so I will give a page to each one or two letters. Book making is another first for me so I feel an accordion type would be the simplest to manage!

About A Letter a Week 2012

Welcome to A Letter a Week 2012, a project that began in 2010 and is primarily about having fun, experimenting and having a regular, small project to focus on each week.

The aim is simply to:

Write/create a letter a week

Creating 52 letters

Which must form 2 x alphabets (that is not 52 x the letter ‘A’)

By the end of 2012

The main rule is that the letter must be presented on a piece of material measuring 7cm x 7cm

– this helps keep a sense of uniformity amongst the pieces which helps with exhibition coherence.

The other criterion for 2012 is that ONE alphabet has to meet the criteria of "Going dotty – polka dots and pixels”

- that means the alphabet uses dots or circles in some form, but is still presented on the square. It could mean dotted letters, dotted backgrounds, pixelated letters, nail heads into timber or letters within circles or…your imagination can have fun going dotty.

Each alphabet must be turned into a final piece which could be used for possible publication or exhibition.

- that is, you must put all the letters together into a final piece of art.